


She's Got Issues

by cat_77



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Mild Language, Speculation on Skye's parentage, Will likely be Jossed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 19:59:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_77/pseuds/cat_77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coulson comes through and gets Skye a lead on her family.  The meeting does not go quite as she had expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's Got Issues

**Author's Note:**

> For the "abandonment issues" square at hc_bingo. Technically a crossover of Agents of SHIELD and The Avengers and technically not since they are both in the same greater universe anyway. Written before episode 1.6, but compliant with it.
> 
> * * *

When she thought back upon it later, the meeting had not gone quite as planned. As it was, she shook out her hand, having tensed it in exactly the way Grant had warned her not to, and stormed away. She ignored the shouting that followed, just like she had ignored the look of surprise on Tony Stark’s face when she connected with his jaw. Through the fog, she thought she heard a voice say, “Yeah, you deserved that,” but that may just have been wishful thinking on her part.

Jemma found her some time later, which actually impressed her. She had thought the scientist would be in Ga-Ga Land over the prospect of seeing Stark Tower and all the breakthroughs and secrets it held up close and personal, even with the inventive stuff she worked with on a near daily basis. Instead, she found her erstwhile teammate sitting beside her, gently pulling the still aching hand into her lap and placing an icepack across the reddened knuckles. “Not what you expected?” Jemma guessed.

Skye shook her head and flexed her fingers under the cold. “Growing up, yeah, okay, dream big and all that. But, I mean, I’m pretty sure every Annie out there wants a Daddy Warbucks. Stark’s name was in the news, like always, so there was at least a passing want,” she babbled. She stopped the flow of words with a sigh and resisted tugging her fingers through her hair, but mainly just because she had seen the billionaire in question do that to his own only moments before. “They weren’t ever even serious dreams, just dreams that something had to be better than what I had and, hey, rich would be so much cooler than wearing some foster brother’s hand-me-downs that smelled like potatoes.”

Jemma wrinkled her nose at the descriptor, but still kept her hand in place. “But now?” she prodded.

Skye blew out a breath, a long strand of her hair fluttering with the action. “Now I have to deal with some rich asshole who doesn’t even remember my mother and is far more interested in knowing how I even got the clearance to be in his precious ivory tower than the fact one of his sperm happened to get as lucky as he did that night. Let’s not even get into the whole never followed up with what was probably just a one night stand to see if, you know, she got knocked up or died in a horrific car crash or left their offspring to the dirt and grime of a system that wouldn’t even release her until she forged some records about her age because the few that existed were fricken redacted to hell and gone and no one couldn’t make heads or tails of them.”

“So you’re saying you have a few feelings about this?” Simmons said carefully, but with a smile.

“Oh, I’ve definitely got feels,” Skye agreed, eying her sideways. “Most of them are centered around the rage and anger part of the spectrum, but I’ve got feels.” She didn't immediately grin back because she felt she deserved a little time to wallow. She wasn't asking for much, really, just some time to self-actualize and get righteously pissed off. She was almost there already, it wouldn't take much to cross that line.

Anything else Simmons was going to say was cut off by a tiny yet incredibly intimidating looking woman seemingly appearing out of thin air before them. “Stark is requesting a paternity test,” the woman said without preamble.

“Well, duh, how do you think I found him?” Skye replied, tugging her hand free from Jemma's grasp and kind of missing the ice immediately. “Searched for decades, AC takes the lead and I finally get a hit?” She finally gave in to the urge to push her hair out of her eyes, mainly so she could level a glare in the woman’s direction. It was beyond ineffective and made her kinda want to hide behind the protective veil again, but at least it meant she was looking at her and saw the less than minuscule reaction when she said, “Seriously, like SHIELD resources aren’t good enough? I told Coulson this was crap. Look, can we just forget it? I mean, it’s not like it’s the first time the guy got slugged, I couldn’t have done any actual damage-”

She started to push herself upright, but found a hand on her shoulder shoving her down with great force. Like a surprising amount of force given the size of what stood in front of her. “What did you say?” the woman asked, demanded, really. There was a fair amount of menace to her tone even – Skye had felt threatened before just by her standing there, but this was insane.

Of course, she never did know when to shut up, a character flaw really, and possibly one she shared with her birth father if things were to be believed. “I said it was probably not the first time someone punched Tony Stark,” she repeated. She looked to Jemma for support, but found her companion had edged away and was currently under the scrutiny of a scroungy looking guy in a purple button-up.

“The other part,” the mean woman said as though talking to a child. The irony was not lost on Skye.

“AC approved the blood test himself. Simmons over there, the one getting a stare down by the guy with glasses, ran it herself,” Skye insisted. She rolled her eyes as an excuse to look away for a moment. “Seriously, where did you think I even got the sample in the first place?”

“And ‘AC’ would be?” a new voice asked. She tracked it over to a guy that was seriously hot, but also looked seriously pissed. All built and arms and fit and arms and cute and mussed hair and arms... These two had the intimidation gig down pat. She was impressed. And intimidated. Mainly intimidated.

“You do not have the clearance to know,” a sadly familiar voice replied before she got the chance to. Ward stepped in like some big bold savior or something. He looked to Arm Guy with familiarity and Redhead with dread.

“Ward…” Arm Guy growled, as in actually growled. Okay, some definite history there.

The guy in the purple shirt put a hand on his shoulder and warned, “Clint, don't do anything you'll regret…” so at least she had a name now.

Clint Guy smiled in a way that really wasn't a smile and asked, "Who said anything about regrets?"

To add to the confusion, yet another voice joined the fray. “Actually, as of 0930 this morning, the appropriate clearance levels have been raised,” AC himself said, striding in like he owned the place.

Yeah, so if punching Stark was impressive, the Clint guy punching Coulson was phenomenal. AC went down like he had a glass jaw, sat up, and got a matching shiner from the redhead.

Skye was admittedly a bit shocked by that, but not as surprised as when both crouched low beside him and then steadied him as they got him to his feet, one cursing less than silently and one speaking a language she had no hope of understanding, though AC seemed to at least make out enough to get the drift of what was being said. The guy in the purple shirt disappeared only to reappear with what looked to be an industrial-sized ice pack which the place apparently stocked in bulk or something, arriving just in time to hear Coulson chide, “You pulled your punch,” and “Really, I’ve been working to get you authorization for months," and "Yes, I died, just not for that long."

The ice pack exploded in the guy’s hand, a hand that was rapidly becoming several shades of green and it took her a stupidly long time to connect that he was about to become the monster from TV. Steve Fricken Rogers appeared then – even she would recognize him and he didn't even have the uniform on – and he talked in calming, soothing tones that actually had Hulk Guy turning more flesh colored again and in a remarkable amount of time so possibly it was a practiced thing at this point. He finished up with a glare in Coulson’s direction and a very disappointed sounding, “I would hit you myself, but believe the situation has been handled sufficiently.”

That, of all things, seemed to crush Coulson beyond belief. It also served to solidify the fanboy status in Skye’s head, but that was another matter altogether. She thought now would be a good time to slip away, escape from the extreme drama of the day, but was caught in passing by Captain Fricken America, who held her arm all gentle-like and totally unmovable and said, “Miss? Mr. Stark does request a blood test, solely to make certain SHIELD is not trying to do something underhanded or create a persona to use against him. I do hope you understand.”

And, really, what could she say to that?

Well, she could say a lot, but it appeared that good ol’ boy, Captain America charm was real or something because she found herself having a hard time keeping up with her usual snark standards in response to it. Jemma, bless her heart, did find words, and they were, “We did record the procedure – everything on the bus is recorded – so I can provide you with a copy if you would prefer not to drain the poor girl dry.” Skye filed the recording thing away for later because there were definitely some things she would prefer the men in suits didn't see of her personal life.

“Ma’am,” he said, like people still said such things. “I would love to take your word for it, but it would still be possible to fake such results, or so I’m told. We don’t mean to question your proficiency, only the honesty involved.” He lowered his chin slightly and looked all humble, like he wasn't holding Skye in an unbreakable grip and blocking the path of both Simmons and Ward with an admittedly remarkable stance.

Simmons blinked and, yeah, definitely another one fallen for the charm. So Skye found herself led to a fairly spacious white room where the guy that had just turned green came at her with a needle, and then a swab for her mouth, and then another needle. “So glad I brushed this morning,” she muttered, and he just offered a shy smile in return, as though he hadn’t just busted an ice pack with his bare hands.

Ward stayed nearby, which was nice, even if he had pushed Jemma away to go find Leo and mainly just get the hell out of Dodge while she could. The pacing was not quite as nice, and seemed to put the guy who turned into a giant rage monster on edge more than a little, so she leaned forward and whispered, "Ignore him, he has testosterone envy."

Rage Guy's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he even let out a huff of a laugh. Captain Fricken America smiled as well, so she counted it as a win. Arms Guy and Scary Lady were still outside the door, neatly blocked by all-American muscle, and were having some not so hushed and seriously not so nice conversations with Coulson, who couldn't do much to respond what with both also slamming the ice pack back up on his face anytime he removed it to try to talk.

What she picked up was that they thought he was dead for real, died in some horrific manner during the attack on New York for a lot more than eight seconds or whatever, and he had kept the mystical magical healing powers of Tahiti to himself. They seemed less than pleased with his lack of specifics but, to be fair, so did he.

Eventually, the three of them strode in, all in step even, and AC ordered, "Ward, please go round up Simmons and Fitz. The last thing we need is Stark to accuse us of industrial espionage and copyright infringement atop plotting against his legacy." He sound put upon and tired and more than a little not like himself, but Grant fell for it, possibly because his programming told him always to obey his superior or some such thing.

So Ward left, with a parting glare of course, and Coulson locked the door behind him, and followed through with a crisp, "JARVIS? Protocol Alpha-Zed-Forty-Five." He dropped the pack and offered an almost apologetic, "It would be best if Skye wasn't present for this but, considering she's serving as cover, it will have to do."

Skye glowered in his direction. "You asshole. If you got my hopes up just so you could have your little reunion, I will so find a way to kick your ass!" she threatened which, upon retrospect, was possibly not the best idea in a room containing multiple known agents and killers. She would have even pointed and wagged her finger and everything, but she was still busy holding a cotton-ball to where she had been shoved with metal for his little ruse. "I'll... I'll torch your action figures or something. The limited edition ones first!"

Coulson actually quirked his lips at that, and promised, "The test results were real, as was an opportunity presented that I simply could not resist."

He turned to face the others and Arm Guy reached for the ice pack again, but received a shake of a balding head for his efforts. That was, of course, when Arm Guy paused and stared at the redness and bruising and said, "I know I hit you harder than that, sir." It was the "sir" at the end that made Skye bite back a giggle despite all the other emotions she still felt from being used.

"And therein lies at least one of the problems," Coulson said in his usual, no nonsense way. He took off his jacket and unbuttoned his cuffs. He rolled them into neat, precise folds, and explained, "I am healing far faster than I have any right to, old aches are missing, as are skill sets. I can't remember anything past getting poked with a really big stick and then waking up in a tropical paradise, and Sitwell may well be able to strip a gun in half the time it took me last time I tried."

Arm Guy blinked before he raised his eyebrows high. "That's... worrisome."

"SHIELD insists I am fine. I insist they are lying. About what, I don't know yet. Considering I have limited access to my own files right now and those I can get my hands on scream of Hill's version of imagination? I need answers," Coulson replied crisply.

Skye dared to speak, even though it was clear she was there was a third wheel at that point. "AC, you know I would have hacked..."

He cut her off with another shake of his head. "You are being monitored, and not just by the bracelet. Any login you make from the bus is registered and reviewed at multiple levels to see if you are sharing with more than just your team," he explained. He sounded almost apologetic, but she also knew he was giving her more information than he probably should. Maybe it was payment for being his cover. Maybe it was guilt over the situation. Whatever it was, she filed it away for possible use and abuse at a later date.

Arm Guy had visibly tensed though, and Redhead had a serious looking knife in her hand before Skye could even blink. "They have you working with a known double agent?" the guy asked. If she thought she was pissed at the whole situation, it paled in comparison to his tone alone.

"Almost triple at this point," Coulson assured them. "I am fairly certain Skye here will make the right choices, or at least those she feels are correct. She may not be loyal to SHIELD yet, but she's loyal to me and to her team, so it's a start. I've worked with less in the past." He smiled ever so slightly, and both the killer agent people did the same in return. It made some of the stories Ward had shared about the recruitment of certain agents seem far more believable, if still farfetched in their own right. There was also a compliment hidden in the words he had just said, Skye was almost sure of it. 

Redhead put the knife away and still looked at her like she was a target, but took a visible step back when Coulson pointed out, "We're wasting time. Ward and the others will be back soon enough. He's still enough of a company man not to be kept in on this little loop, and Fitz and Simmons would be distracted with the science and not the personal implications. May's due in within the next ten minutes, so I give you five to take your samples."

It was the quiet guy in the purple shirt who spoke next. "You trust us?" he asked, fidgeting with his glasses.

"With my life," Coulson confirmed without so much as a pause for breath. That alone told Skye that she really needed to learn who was who of this little troop of espionage.

She thought about it while Coulson got poked and prodded and then almost slapped herself at her own denseness. They were in the place currently nicknamed The Avengers Tower and AC used to gang around with the Avengers. Hell, she had just met Captain Actual America. If her own blind rage at discovering Daddy Dearest was a world-renowned philanthropist to everyone save for his own offspring hadn't gotten in the way, she would have figured it out a lot faster. Arm Guy was called Clint, as in Clint Barton, as in the hot archer with the goofy name of Hawkeye. Redhead was Black Widow, Natasha Something-She-Couldn't-Pronounce. Glasses Guy was Hulk Guy was Doctor Bruce Banner. She knew these people, read about them and watched them on tv, researched what little she could of them from the non-public record and would have dug deeper at SHIELD had she not been caught. Somehow, though, seeing them up close and personal had made them less the superstars and more, well, human.

She was surrounded by super heroes and could only focus on her daddy issues. Yeah, she needed to get over her big bad self and think about the more important matters in life.

"Do you think you might be a LMD?" Barton asked, sounding seriously less than pleased at the prospect.

"I debated that," Coulson admitted. Banner took one vial of blood and readied another. "But Skye here rigged a pair of glasses in true spy fashion. Think an upgrade from the old x-ray version. I'm flesh and bone under here, so either they have upgraded the LMDs without a proper paper trail, or something else is at play." At least that explained why the glasses had been stolen back. She had designed them and really wanted to play with them more and had been annoyed at the time, but figured they disappeared when her freedom had. It looked like they went to good use though, so there was that.

A tissue sample was taken as well, and Coulson managed to simply be straightening his tie by the time Ward returned with the rest if the gang in tow, including May. "JARVIS, unlock," he ordered before they reached the door. May stepped through first, and he acted as though he was mid-sentence as he fake fidgeted with his suit coat and said, "...enough of hospitals and labs to last a lifetime, really. I think glass vials make me nervous at this point."

"Can't have that, sir," Barton said easily, but Skye noted a slight change in posture versus before, the kind Ward taught her to look for before trying some of the moves he had been teaching her.

"You know, of course, that he's going to sneak aboard that bus of yours and decorate your entire office in them now," the Natasha woman added drolly. She had pocketed the samples or hid them in some way so that even Skye wondered where she had put them. Seriously, the chick put Ward to shame and Skye had been impressed by him.

May picked up a vial from the table and raised an eyebrow at it. Banner ignored her in favor of placing a bandage over Skye's original draw site first, a purple one with little green Hulks on it, and then took the vial from her to label it with a scrawled, "Sample 1: Sky Cross-test."

"Dude, you spelled my name wrong," she complained.

He made a show of adding a giant "E" and rolled his eyes as he muttered, "Attitude is definitely similar enough."

"Oddly enough, Stark doesn't trust our samples," Coulson explained, even though Skye suspected Melinda had already gotten the rundown on the way in.

"Yeah, so it's all 'double your pleasure, double your fun,' but with pain and blood draws," she chimed in. She flexed her arm and felt the bandage pull at all the tiny hairs on her arm. She made a face and yanked her own sleeve down and added, "Seriously, this much bloodloss requires like food or something to make up for it, right? Is there a cafeteria around here? I swear I saw a coffee shop on the first floor of this sucker and a latte would go a long way towards making up for my pain and suffering."

May did her usual "I'm indulging you but don't really care" look, but Simmons could always be counted on for some sympathy. "Come on, let's get you one while we wait for the results," she said. Then, giving Skye yet another reason to like her, added, "We'll tell them it's on your father's account."

Barton barked out a laugh, but it was Captain Fricken America that said, "I'll buy; it's the least I can do."

"Cool," Skye said by way of thanks. "I came here looking for a dad but got a Sugar Daddy instead, I can live with that and whoa do you turn red easily."

"Stop harassing the national icon," Coulson told her with a sigh, but she could still see the humor in his eyes.

He, Ward, and May stayed up top while Leo, Jemma, and said national icon went down the awesome fast elevator with her. There was indeed a coffee shop and they did indeed have everything a girl could hope for caffeine-wise. She had a feeling Mr. America was guarding her as much as indulging her, but it turned out he also had a secret love of over-sugary drinks too. They made him his usual, which looked like a mocha topped with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream and red, white, and blue sprinkles. He ordered one for her as well, and she figured it could be far worse.

"Tony meant it as a joke and I have abused it ever since," he smiled, a bit of whipped cream at the corner of his mouth. He licked it away and she had some very bad thoughts that she was fairly certain were mirrored in Simmon's eyes as well before Fitz snapped his fingers in front of them. The two scientists had placed themselves at a table nearby and were poking at one of the many games pre-loaded into the interactive tabletop.

"So, aside from being an arrogant, self-centered asshole, what's he like?" she asked. She knew she was less than subtle, but he really didn't seem to mind and didn't even bother to act surprised at the questioning or tone.

He took another sip of his concoction and mused, "Pretty much that, but with self-sacrificing tendencies I severely misjudged the first time we met." He looked at her sternly now, and she had a passing thought that, if the tests came back the way she was fairly certain they would, she was signing on for far more than she originally bargained for. "He's a good man, beneath it all. Enough so to earn my trust and my protection. If this is some play, either on your part or the part of SHIELD, to worm your way into his organization or finances, you will find yourself in some severely uncomfortable circumstances."

She lowered her cup, but held on to it solely so her hands would not clench into fists. Her anger threatened to get the better of her yet again and she was kind of tempted to let it. No one believed her. Ever. She should be used to this, and yet she was not. She should be resigned, and yet she was not - it was definitely another emotion that wanted to take the stage.

"Look," she blurted before she could think better of it. "I spent my life thinking I'm a reject. My parents didn't want me and neither did like a single foster home. When AC found me, I was living in my van with a single redacted document as my only source of possible parentage. He gave me a chance, I blew it, and he gave me another. The cost of that other was to come clean to him, which I did, and this is where it took me. Any questions? Because, really, that's all I can tell you because that's all I know!"

He seemed to consider her for a moment before he asked, "Just one: AC? Agent Coulson's first name is Phil, Phillip if you wish to be formal."

"No it's not, it's Agent," she said, an odd echo to her words. She looked up to see Mr. Tony Asshole Stark himself there, smirk in place, but a tension around his eyes like he was faking it.

Captain America readily excused himself with a shake of his head and took his special drink with him, but only so far as to where her teammates were now trying to beat each other in what looked to be an upgraded version of Space Invaders and totally suck at pretending not to listen in. She eyed her drink, and then him, and then her drink again before she asked, "So what brings you down from your ivory, well, steel alloy thingy, tower?"

"Apparently my offspring," he replied, taking the seat so recently vacated. He looked around almost nervously, and she spared the area a look to see what was so interesting only to realize the entire place had been cleared out save for the five of them.

"Ah, a dirty secret you don't want anyone else to know," she guessed, trying and failing to hide the sneer that wanted to break forth. "I get it, I do. Is this where you either offer to pay me off or have me put down like a dog? Because I'm fairly certain Ward will be cranky for at least a day if he's not the one to do it."

Stark blinked, and she had a brief moment to realize she had actually caught him off guard. "No..." he said slowly, and he even looked somewhat troubled by the thought. "This is where I apologize for earlier. Agent's word should have been enough, but the samples cinched it. You are at least half mine, and now have the paperwork to seal it. Whether you want to admit it to the world and have a huge target painted on your back is a whole 'nother discussion, and one I'll need something stronger than coffee to get anywhere near."

She spun a finger in the air and tried not to get emotional, not over him, not now. The wetness that threatened to gather at the corners of her eyes was so not helping matters. It was also annoying. Like him. Actually, fuck, the whole day could be summed up by that word by this point. "Whoo hoo," she forced herself to say drily. "Do we go down to the American Kennel Association now and register my pedigree?"

He snorted, but there wasn't a lot of humor to it. "Well, there's going to be paperwork, and probably a hell of a lot of it," he admitted. "But there's also going to be an apology and some serious sucking up and possibly some horrible gift giving because I'm really bad at that. Agent said something about a van, but I can totally get you a better car than that. Pepper always likes shoes when I screw up, and dinner at that place with the tiny little dim sum. Are you a shoe-girl? What about puppies? You mentioned a kennel, I could totally get you one to train for that plane of yours. It could pee on Agent No-Fun's shoes and everything..."

"I don't want to be paid off!" she snapped, emotions finally getting the better of her. She figured she had done good to hold out this long, but she really couldn't hide it away much longer and no longer even felt like trying. The day sucked, and she was entitled to act like a child in front of this man if no other. Fitz and Simmons and even Rogers all turned in her direction at her little outburst, but she ignored them out of sheer will alone. "I just wanted to know who my parents were. I wanted to know why I was left to the state and why no one even tried to find me. I wanted to know why my life was hell and why I had to fake a background because I had none and no one knew or wanted to know anything about me. I wanted to know why some secret government agency had a file on me, even wooed me to join them, but couldn't bother to tell me who the fuck I was until I forced the issue. I wanted to know why I wasn't wanted, not why you get to make believe now."

She swiped at her eyes, pissed to find the backs of her hands both damp and smeared with her eyeliner. He offered her a napkin, but she didn't even want to take that much from him and used her chocolate-stained own instead. It took her a while to realize his lips were moving, and even longer to figure out what he was apparently repeating: "I didn't know!" He looked emotional himself, like actually uncomfortable and everything, but she wasn't buying it.

"Bullshit," she countered, kind of proud when her voice didn't even crack. "You have the world's best tech at your disposal and everyone at SHIELD knows you hacked their database at least once. You didn't want to know, or you did and refused to admit it," she sniffed. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and noted the very ends dotted with whipped cream and what looked to be a sprinkle or two, but ignored that for now too.

He ran his hands through his own hair and, wow, that was some seriously strong gel to stand up to the sort of abuse he had put it through today alone. "I hacked them now," he admitted, earning some wide eyes from her colleagues and some fast talking from their current companion. "While Bruce double-checked the paternity test. I found your document and JARVIS is verifying it wasn't a plant as we speak." He jerked his head to the side and Rogers escorted the others out, much to her annoyance.

"Oh, 'cause that's not freaky at all," she pointed out.

He proved she wasn't the only one good at the ignoring act and instead spoke to the room around them. "JARVIS? Display findings on this terminal," he ordered.

The table lit up, first with her single redacted document, and then with a hell of a lot more. "Your mother was at least a double agent, and not necessarily on SHIELD's side," he explained. "I met her at a conference long before I knew of our acronym-friendly buddies and I'd like to say she was more than a one-night stand but she wasn't, not by much. She disappeared with specs for a weapons prototype a few days later, and only reappeared months afterwards as a Jane Doe found dead and I never made the connection. I don't know why she didn't come to me with a paternity claim then, unless she didn't want to blow her cover or end up in big brother's version of jail. I didn't know, I never knew until today," he swore and, damn it, she really wanted to believe him.

Instead, she said, "So apparently this being on the wrong side of SHIELD runs in the family."

He snorted and this time even looked amused. "Don't trust them, not completely," he warned. He looked pointedly at her bracelet and said, "There's enough of a dampening field in here that they shouldn't be picking up everything we're saying."

"So you can deny this later?" she guessed.

He shook his head. "So that I can tell you that I can remove that thing whenever you want and to give you this." He shoved something small and ring-like into her hand, which continued with the jewelry theme at least. "Push it once to interrupt the signal, to create a feedback-slash-false-input of sorts only far more complicated than that, and then twice to start it up again. Nat's also replacing the tablet in that tiny bunker of yours - and, really, how it that better than a van? - so that you can work on whatever the hell your hacktivist heart desires without being spied on by anyone other than JARVIS, and Big J will leave you to your privacy if you want, right J?"

She tried really hard not to jump when the room itself replied, "Of course, sir. It would be rude to do otherwise."

She didn't know how much she trusted him, didn't know how much this wasn't a set up by SHIELD itself to see if she'd get in contact with the Rising Tide again if given the chance, but she could at least embarrass the crap out of him by downloading porn, so there was that.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you don't trust me and cash or a trust fund would be seen as a payoff, though those can be set up as well," he shrugged. "Plus, something is going on with Agent and he trusts you enough to let you in. He's important to us, all of us, and if you happen to notice something weird or wrong, you get both of you the fuck out of there and we'll keep you safe."

"We?" she asked, but figured she already knew he answer.

"The Avengers as a whole, with or without SHIELD as support," he confirmed.

"Why?" she asked again. Her mocha was growing cold, but she was willing to wait it out.

He did that annoying smirk again. "Because I know now much it sucks to be alone, and don't want my kid to have to go through it any more than she already has," he replied.

She looked through the window to where Fitz and Simmons were less than patiently waiting, saw Ward and May and even Coulson coming up the hallway behind them. "I have a team," she pointed out, feeling an odd bit of warmth in her chest. She was arguing internally at whether the warmth was caused by his words or her own, but it was definitely there.

He looked to where Barton and Banner and the woman whose name she couldn't pronounce were following behind and amended, "You have more than one."

She smiled despite herself and drank her now not much more than caffeinated chocolate milk. She went from no family to two in a matter of months, damn near drowning in the riches of it all and that was without letting Stark sign a check. She couldn't quite wrap her mind around it yet, not after going without for so long, but she was damn well willing to try.

"Are we good here?" Stark asked.

She snorted, and wondered if it was another trait they shared. "In no fucking way are we good," she replied as she slipped on the ring. It shifted and and resized itself to fit perfectly and was totally freaky and disconcerting.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," he said, completely unperturbed. "Give me a month and I'll get you a fake bracelet to replace that thing with. It will send SHIELD all sorts of inappropriate data and give you access to some seriously cool systems," he offered.

"And you're not at all concerned that I'll use this privilege to help the Rising Tide?" she asked doubtfully.

He leaned close, gelled hair almost catching on her own, and whispered, "Who do you think funds half of their operations? The non-explosive ones, at least." He stood then, and offered her a wink before he wandered out to the others as if he had not just totally shifted her worldview. She had tons of questions, most not much more than half-formed in her mind, and had absolutely no idea where to begin with any of them.

She downed the rest of her drink and listened to a proper British voice promise that all the documents currently being closed on the screen before her would be downloaded to the tablet she was to be given. She watched AC try to ask her if she was okay without actually using his words, and listened as Jemma and Leo were far less subtle and even let Jemma pull the sprinkles from her hair. She answered all three at once, knowing far more than three were listening and tried really hard not to play with the new little bit of bling on her finger and draw attention to it as she replied, "Yeah, you know what? I think I'm going to be fine. You know, eventually."

They seemed satisfied with her answer and, strangely enough, so was she. She looked to the man she was probably never going to call father and matched his subtle little nod with one of her own. It wasn't much, yet, but it was a start, and that would have to be enough for now.

 

End.


End file.
